Illinois: Automatic voter registration coming soon to Illinois | WRSP

Automatic voter registration has been a topic in Illinois for months, and it’s something that U.S. Senator Dick Durbin is also working on at a national level. Both the Illinois House and Senate unanimously passed legislation for automatic voter registration. That currently sits on the governor’s desk and has signaled that he will sign.

Editorials: Going national with automatic voter registration | Adam Gitlin/The Hill

Senior members of Congress last week introduced a bill that would automatically register Americans to vote when they interact with a wide range of government agencies, unless they decline. The reform not only expands access to the most fundamental right in our democracy and increases participation, it also reduces mistakes on the rolls and enhances the security of voting infrastructure. In short, it brings election administration into the 21st Century. The initiative, led by Rep. Robert Brady (D-Pa.), and Sens. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), and Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), comes amid increased momentum for automatic registration at the state level. Eight states and the District of Columbia have approved the policy, and 32 states have introduced bills to implement or expand the reform in 2017. Oregon — the first state to jump on board — has already fully implemented automatic registration, and early research on its effects on turnout is encouraging.

Pennsylvania: Democrats push to get voter registration bills out of committee | WITF

A group of legislative Democrats are pushing no fewer than twelve bills on voter registration in the House and Senate. They would model expanded voting and voter registration in Pennsylvania after reforms already done in other states. However, Democrats haven’t even been able to get the measures past the first stage of consideration in the GOP-controlled chambers–the House and Senate State Government Committees.

Massachusetts: Lawmakers weigh automatic voter registration | Associated Press

Massachusetts residents could have their voter registration information automatically updated whenever they renew their drivers’ licenses or interact with other state agencies. A bill working its way through Beacon Hill would help ensure that more of the state’s nearly 700,000 eligible citizens who are not registered to vote are able to cast ballots on Election Day. “Massachusetts can lead the way toward giving all citizens a voice in their government,” said Pam Wilmot, executive director of Common Cause Massachusetts, a backer of the bill, which was the subject of a public hearing Thursday.

Massachusetts: Automatic registration pitched as ‘next step’ to improve voting access | The Berkshire Eagle

Registering to vote in Massachusetts could become an automatic process for people who renew their driver’s license or otherwise interact with a state agency under legislation supporters pitched Thursday as a way to boost participation in the democratic process. The Joint Committee on Election Laws heard testimony Thursday on bills that would create an automatic voter registration system for eligible citizens. Instead of the current process where people wishing to vote must first fill out a registration form with their local elections officers, the system would call on state agencies to transmit a person’s name, age, residence and citizenship information to municipal boards of registrars within five days of collecting it.

Oregon: New Report Analyzes Impact of Oregon’s Automatic Voter Registration | The Skanner

A new report released today by the Center for American Progress’ Liz Kennedy and Rob Griffin, along with voting experts Tova Wang and Professor Paul Gronke, provides a demographic and geographic portrait of how Oregon’s automatic voter registration system (AVR) — the first in the nation — has expanded the state’s electorate and registered hundreds of thousands of eligible citizens to vote. The findings of this exclusive new analysis provide strong evidence in favor of AVR, not only given the increase in people registered to vote and voters, but also how the program has succeeded in making Oregon’s voter rolls more representative of the state’s population by registering younger, less urban, lower-income, and more ethnically diverse individuals. The report is accompanied by a robust set of graphics and charts as well as a video and an interactive map that brings the story to life by showcasing the regions and communities that benefited the most from AVR, displaying both the percentage of AVR registrants in an area as well as their participation rates on election day.

Illinois: New Automatic Voter Registration Bill Could Expand Voter Participation | CBS

Backers of the new Automatic Voter Registration bill approved by the General Assembly said they cannot wait to see Governor Rauner sign the legislation, and put it into action. Backers believe it will expand voter participation in Illinois. WBBM’s Political Editor Craig Dellimore reports. A spokeswoman for Governor Rauner said he thanks the sponsors and stakeholders who work with his office to craft the final version of this law. Anyone who applies for or updates a driver’s license will automatically be registered to vote unless they say otherwise.

Illinois: Automatic registration might not mean more voters | News Tribune

Voter rolls soon may be growing, but that doesn’t mean more people are going to vote. The Illinois House voted 115-0 this week to approve automatic voter registration for citizens who use state services, such as the driver facilities at the Secretary of State’s offices. It changes registration from “opt-in” to “opt-out.” On Wednesday, the Senate passed the bill 55-0. “The new system assumes they want in,” said David Druker, press secretary for the Secretary of State’s Office, of voters.

District of Columbia: A driver’s license in D.C. will soon come with a perk: automatic voter registration | The Washington Post

Every District resident over the age of 18 who gets a driver’s license would become automatically registered to vote under a spending plan the D.C. Council is expected to give final approval to later this month. The spending plan, which advanced easily on Tuesday, would mean the District would join­­ eight states with automatic voter registration. Many Democratic lawmakers embraced automatic registration as a way to counter restrictive voter ID laws supported by some conservatives. Government groups have also pressed states to link voter registration with other government databases, saying doing so would help clean up inaccurate state voter rolls. Lawmakers in 32 states have introduced measures in the last year to automatically register drivers to vote.

Illinois: Election officials: Funding needed for registration bill | Bloomington Pantagraph

Local election officials hope the state will budget enough money to do automatic voter registration properly. “Have they figured out how they’re going to pay for it and implement it? That will be key for its success,” said McLean County Clerk Kathy Michael. “It would be a good thing if it worked perfectly, but we’re awaiting further details on it.” The state House and Senate sent Gov. Bruce Rauner legislation that would automatically add residents to the voter rolls when they visit state offices, including those of the secretary of state, who oversees driver’s licenses and vehicle registration. Residents would be able to opt out at the beginning of the registration process. … Logan County Clerk Sally Turner, however, said, “Most county clerks have resigned to the fact that (automatic voter registration) will be the law, but we are all apprehensive in the way it will occur.”

Illinois: Rauner Will Sign Automatic Voter Registration After Vetoing It Last Year | HuffPost

Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner (R) intends to sign legislation supported by both chambers of the Illinois legislature that will automatically register people to vote when they interact with state drivers’ facilities and other state agencies. The decision to sign the legislation marks a big victory for voting rights advocates. Rauner vetoed a similar measure last year. At the time, he said the legislation would “inadvertently open the door to voter fraud and run afoul of federal election law.” But a few changes were apparently enough to convince Rauner to sign on to automatic voter registration, which has already led to considerable gains in the number of registered voters in Oregon, the first state to implement it last year. Illinois would be the ninth state to adopt automatic voter registration, and advocates estimate it could add over 1 million voters to the state’s rolls.

Rhode Island: House OKs automatic voter registration bill | Providence Journal

Legislation to automatically put anyone who applies for a Rhode Island driver’s license on the state’s voter rolls, unless they opt out, cleared the state House of Representatives on Wednesday, despite GOP efforts to block the same practice at other state agencies with troubled computer histories. In the end, the vote was unanimous for the legislation championed by Secretary of State Nellie Gorbea, the governor and a long list of groups, including the NAACP, the League of Women Voters, Common Cause Rhode Island, Young Democrats of R.I., and the American Civil Liberties Union of Rhode Island.

Illinois: Legislature OKs automatic-voter registration | State Journal-Register

A bill that would automatically register Illinoisans to vote when they visit a Secretary of State’s Office passed unanimously in the House of Representatives on Monday. Senate Bill 1933 would allow qualified residents to be registered to vote when they visit driver’s services offices and other state agencies. Residents would have the option to opt out of the registration. Earlier this month, the bill passed without opposition within the Senate.

Washington: How Many Voters Could Automatic Voter Registration Add to the Voter Rolls in Washington State? | Sightline Institute

Oregon’s New Motor Voter law empowered more than a quarter-million voters in its first nine months. Six states plus Washington, DC, are now implementing automatic voter registration, including Alaska, which approved it by a landslide in November. Evergreen State readers may be wondering: What about Washington? Can’t we do that, too? Yes. But it’s complicated. The number of voting-age Washingtonians who are not registered to vote has grown steadily in the past few decades. Although more voters registered in 2016, nearly 1.3 million voting-age adults in Washington remain unregistered. Adding them to voter rolls once they prove their citizenship would ensure they receive mail-in ballots and can vote in future elections. Most registered voters cast ballots only some of the time, which is their choice. When Oregon introduced its automatic registration system this year, about a quarter of the automatically registered newcomers to the rolls cast ballots in November’s US election.

Illinois: House expected to amend automatic voter registration bill to address elections board concerns | Illinois News Network

The state House is expected to amend a measure to automatically register people to vote when they interact with a state agency because of concerns shared by the Illinois State Board of Elections. State Sen. Andy Manar, D-Bunker Hill, said his legislation, Senate Bill 1933, which has been in the works for a couple of years, shows bipartisan solutions are possible. “Democrats and Republicans can work together on an issue that oftentimes just goes right down the partisan hole of the legislature,” Manar said. The bill passed unanimously Friday.

Illinois: Senators advance bipartisan automatic voter registration bill | Chicago Tribune

Senate lawmakers again advanced legislation Friday that could automatically register many Illinoisans to vote, a victory for now for supporters who saw a similar effort last year vetoed by Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner. Both Democrats and Republicans voted for the revamped proposal after sponsoring Sen. Andy Manar, D-Bunker Hill, incorporated changes pushed by Rauner — a rare attempt at compromise in a statehouse that’s been marked by years of dysfunction and partisan bickering. “That is without question going to lead to more people, more citizens of our state, regardless of where they live, regardless of party affiliation, participating in our electoral process,” Manar said. “And regardless who wins an election, we all win as citizens of the state of Illinois.”

New York: Election reformers make case for early voting, automatic voter registration | CNHI

Advocates for election reform say voter turnout across the New York could be greatly increased by allowing citizens to cast their ballots early and adopting automatic voter registration, as other states have. Without such measures, said Jennifer Wilson, program and policy director for the League of Women Voters of New York State, this state will continue to have one of the lowest voter-participation levels in the nation. “We think early voting would have an immediate impact,” Wilson said Wednesday after the Assembly Election Law Committee advanced legislation that would allow voting in New York up to seven days before an election.

Delaware: Bills would move local primaries; allow for early voting | The News Journal

Delawareans would be able to vote early, would be automatically registered to vote at the DMV, and would vote in local primary elections and presidential primary at the same time if a trio of bills passes the General Assembly. The goal of all three proposals is to encourage more people to vote, the sponsors say. Rep. David Bentz, D-Christiana, sponsored a bill that would allow citizens to vote in the 10 days leading up to any general, primary or special election. There would be one early-voting polling place in each county, plus one in Wilmington. “We should try to make it so that our elections fit into the people’s schedules, and not where people should have to fit their schedule into the government’s,” Bentz said.

Indiana: Senate Committee Approves Watered-Down BMV Voter Registration Bill | WBAA

The Bureau of Motor Vehicles would be required to offer Hoosiers the chance to register to vote more often under legislation approved by a Senate committee. But the bill does dramatically less than its original version. Under current law, the BMV is required to offer voter registration to anyone seeking a driver’s license, permit or ID card. Rep. Clyde Kersey’s (D-Terre Haute) bill would require the BMV to offer voter registration during all other customer interactions. But Kersey’s original proposal would have implemented automatic voter registration at the BMV. That language was stripped out in the House Elections Committee. Chair Milo Smith (R-Columbus) says there were issues with the idea, including that, in any given trip to the BMV, people might not have all the documents needed to register.

Nevada: Sandoval’s first veto of 2017 session rejects voter registration initiative | Las Vegas Review-Journal

Republican Gov. Brian Sandoval vetoed his first bill of the 2017 legislative session Tuesday, rejecting a citizen initiative to automatically sign up people to vote when they get a driver’s license. It now goes to voters on the 2018 general election ballot. In his veto message, Sandoval said the measure “extinguishes a fundamental, individual choice — the right of eligible voters to decide for themselves whether they desire to apply to register to vote — forfeiting this basic decision to state government.”

Illinois: Automatic voter registration advanced again in state Senate | News-Gazette

Illinois would implement automatic voter registration in time for the 2018 general election under a bill approved by the Senate Executive Committee on Wednesday. Similar legislation passed the Senate and House last year but was vetoed by Gov. Bruce Rauner. Under the measure, Illinois residents who interact at secretary of state driver service facilities or several other state-agency offices would be automatically registered to vote, unless they opt out. A new version of the legislation, SB 1933, was approved by the Senate committee, 10-3, along party lines. “There are two significant differences following the governor’s veto last year,” said Sen. Andy Manar, D-Bunker Hill, the sponsor of the measure.

Malaysia: Election Commission chairman says Malaysia not ready for automatic voter registration | The Star

The extra sensitive job scope of the Election Commission is among the factors for Malaysia not being ready to implement the automatic voter registration system. EC Chairman Datuk Seri Mohd Hashim Abdullah said the commission did not want to be blamed for any problems arising from any changes related to voter registration. “There may be some things which we do not deem serious, but is taken seriously by certain parties. Especially when we make changes. “If we are not prepared, but we proceed to do the changes, then many issues will arise,” he said when he appeared as a guest in the Slot Khas Ekspresi programme on Bernama Radio with the discussion “Voting and the Responsibility of a Citizen”.

Nevada: Sandoval may veto automatic voter registration bill | Nevada Appeal

Gov. Brian Sandoval issued a statement Tuesday saying he may veto Initiative Petition 1, mandating DMV register voters when they get or renew a drivers’ license. The measure has now cleared both houses of the Nevada Legislature pretty much on party line votes and is on its way to his desk where staff says he will review the measure. “Nevada has a respected election system with a high percentage of registered voters and participant rate,” the statement says. “The state also recently reached an agreement that provides that it is in compliance with the Voting Rights Act.”

Nevada: Voter registration bill headed to governor’s desk | Las Vegas Review-Journal

The Nevada Senate on Monday approved a citizen initiative to automatically register people to vote when they conduct certain transactions at the Department of Motor Vehicles. The 12-9 vote was along party lines, with independent Sen. Patricia Farley of Las Vegas joining Democrats to approve the measure. Democratic supporters said it would increase voter rolls in Nevada and engage more people in the election process. Republican opponents countered that the registration system works fine and that the initiative could lead to voter fraud.

Nebraska: Election, DMV officials testify against bill that would make voter registration automatic | Omaha World Herald

A measure to implement automatic voter registration in Nebraska faced opposition Thursday from the state’s chief election official and head of the Nebraska Department of Motor Vehicles. Allowing automatic voter registration would flood the voter registration system with people who are ineligible or already registered, said Colleen Byelick, general counsel and chief deputy for the Secretary of State’s Office. DMV Director Rhonda Lahm argued that not everyone who qualifies for a driver’s license or state ID card is eligible to vote, including people under 18 and those who are not U.S. citizens.

Nevada: Voter registration bill heads to Senate after party-line vote in committee | Las Vegas Review-Journal

An initiative to automatically register people to vote when they obtain or renew a driver’s license or identification card at a Department of Motor Vehicles office passed a Senate committee Wednesday on a 3-2 partisan vote. The Automatic Voter Registration Initiative, or IP1, would amend Nevada law to require the DMV to transmit information to the secretary of state and county election offices to register people who obtain, renew or change an address on a driver’s license or identification card.

Utah: Bill For Automatic Voter Registration With Driver’s License Renewal Heads To Full Senate | KUER

Members of a state senate committee approved a bill today Monday that would automatically update a person’s voter registration when they renew a driver license. Tens of thousands of voters move every year and don’t update their new address with elections officials, says Brian McKenzie, who works in the Davis County Clerk’s office. “A lot of people think that if they update their information with the post office or with the driver’s license (division), then it’s automatically transferred over to voter registration, which it’s not,” he says.

New Mexico: A less automatic voter registration bill clears committee | The NM Political Report

An automatic voter registration bill lost a bit of what made it automatic, but moved on from the House committee that previously blocked it. State Rep. Daymon Ely, D-Albuquerque, was one of two Democrats to previously vote against the legislation in the House Local Government, Elections and Land Grant Committee. He explained after that vote that he voted against the bill initially so he could bring it off the table, citing a parliamentary rule, and reconsider the matter. The bill was previously tabled in the same committee. Ely brought the bill back Tuesday. After a very brief discussion, the committee passed the bill unanimously. “It looks complicated but it’s not,” sponsor Patricia Roybal-Caballero, D-Albuquerque, told the panel of the amendment.

New Mexico: Automatic voter registration bill dies in committee | The Santa Fe New Mexican

Two Democrats joined with Republicans to kill a bill that would have automatically registered all eligible adults as voters when they obtain a New Mexico driver’s license. Rep. Debbie Rodella, D-Española, questioned whether the bill was necessary when the Motor Vehicle Division can already offer eligible adults the chance to register to vote. Republicans on Thursday evening moved to table the bill in the House Local Government, Elections, Land Grants and Cultural Affairs Committee. Rodella and a newly elected Democrat, Rep. Daymon Ely of Corrales, sided with Republicans to stop the proposal on a 5-2 vote.

Nevada: Will Automatic Voter Registration Come To Nevada? | Nevada Public Radio

Should Nevadans be automatically registered to vote when they get their drivers’ licenses? That’s a question before the state Legislature this session. Right now, people can already register to vote while at the DMV, but proposals would make this process opt-out instead of opt-in. In other words, Nevadans would get their voter registrations at the same time as their licenses automatically. Clark County Registrar of Voters Joe Gloria testified before the Assembly’s Legislative Operations committee about the proposals this week. Question: Will everyone who gets a Nevada driver’s license be automatically registered to vote? What about those people who are already licensed but not registered to vote?